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Sugar Spikes

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Sugar Spikes ? Beware those sugar spikes, whether it’s a festive season like Christmas; or some other time of year. By ever so many accounts, eating sugary foods causes a quick surge of energy; but those spikes don’t last long. Then, your energy level crashes. That’s a good reason not to eat candy bars on the bike! I’ve had some sugar “spikes” today! Since I’ll be out visiting tomorrow, I had my own “Christmas” feast today; and that included a good dose of cookies! It’s better to do that at home, I think. And a day of blowing my diet sometimes is what I seem to need to get back on track. After a day of munching cookies and candy, I’m ready to get back to work at minimizing the sweets. Ride It Off? ? Whether you get noticeable sugar spikes or not, you sure get calories from goodies. I hope I do enough to ride it off! This morning I put in 20.6 miles; and part of me wants to go out now and ride a few more miles to help work off what I’ve eaten. But it’s been clouding up since late morning; and I’m not in the mood to get rained on. I hope I can do a short ride tomorrow morning, so that I can rev up my metabolism a bit. Gotta be prepared for any sugar spikes! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Sugar Spikes December 24, 2024 Gray Christmas December 23, 2024 Momentum December 22, 2024 I Prefer Overcast December 21, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Doesn’t Look Good

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Doesn’t Look Good ?️ As of the latest forecast, it doesn’t look good for tomorrow’s moon-viewing ride. Now they’re predicting patchy fog! It won’t be great for flying a drone, either, even if I wanted to! I can still ride if it’s foggy; but the hybrid will be the better choice, because it has fenders. In fact, I’m thinking of going out for 5-6 miles; the doubling back and heading for the supermarket. I went to the salvage store this morning; but didn’t find everything I wanted. With Christmas coming, I want to be sure I have certain items — like garlic-stuffed olives! Speaking of Food ? ? ? Speaking of food, it doesn’t look good sometimes when I pore over my food log. I’m working to minimize sweets; and to eat only small portions when I have them. I admit, though, that it’s uphill work. But I’ll keep trying! These things take time. Even harder than minimizing sweets, is minimizing saturated fat. It’s very hard to keep “sat fat” from going over 12 grams in a day, and still get enough to eat! Especially as sat fat seems to be everywhere. It’s sneaky stuff! Protein? I’m doing fairly well in that department; but I think I’d better work more legumes into my menus. I’ve been using up stuff that I had in the freezer; and my squashed sauce doesn’t have legumes in it. Legumes provide protein without the sat fat that cheese has — and I usually don’t eat more than a half-ounce of cheese at one go. Incidentally, my food log is nothing sophisticated. I use a regular spiral notebook; opened so that there’s a blank page on either side of the spiral. The left-hand side is for a breakdown of each meal; and the other side is for the totals (calories; carbs; protein; sat fat). I don’t find it at all helpful to see only X calories; Y grams of carbs, etc. for each meal. I need to know, for instance, whether breakfast was a banana and 2 tablespoons of peanut butter; or rolled oats mixed with yogurt and almonds. This method of record-keeping is admittedly somewhat wasteful of paper; and that doesn’t look good. But I’ve got to do what I need to do! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Doesn’t Look Good December 14, 2024 Christmas Moon December 13, 2024 What Goes Down December 12, 2024 Subsidence December 11, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Growing Gray

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Growing Gray ☁︎ The sky is growing gray. It was already quite cloudy at 8:30 am; and now, about six hours later, it’s looking even grayer. Rain chances are increasing from now through tomorrow morning; so I’m glad I no longer have to go out at 5 am if I want to get in my miles! Today I did some hard efforts; the kind where I shift into a hard gear and push the cadence. A word of caution: that kind of workout is not for every day; and everything I’ve read about cyclist’s training says, take off from such work every fourth week. If you’re under forty years of age, that is; for riders older than 40, take off every third week. Let’s face it, I myself am growing gray. (Or is it silver? I’ll take silver hair; white hair, OK; but gray? I’d rather skip that!) So week after next, none of this force work.   Try It Out ? You don’t know how well you might do at attempts to ride harder; you have to try it out. Similarly, I can’t know what any one cycling food will be like unless I test it. That’s why I keep an eye out for possible ride food at stores. Yesterday I found SixStar Whey Protein powder in the drug store. I wasn’t familiar with it; and decided to test it. The store had the chocolate flavor shown at left; some kind of vanilla flavor; and two cereal flavors: Fruit Loops® and Frosted Flakes®. The cereal-flavored powders cost a couple of dollars less than the other flavors; and I got the Frosted Flakes kind. Growing gray doesn’t mean losing all of your childhood tastes! Today I decided to try it out. Meh. I like chocolate flavor much better! I’ll use up this canister; and after that I’ll get something else.  This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Growing Gray December 4, 2024 Plugging Away December 3, 2024 Let’s Roll! December 1, 2024 Winter Wheelers November 30, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Day of Doom?

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Day of Doom? ? Day of doom? Thanksgiving?? Any holiday can seem like a day of doom to someone who has dietary restrictions. Holidays are typically laden with goodies (such as these Deep-Dark Sea-Salt Alter Eco Truffles!); and when you’re cursed with a gigantic sweet tooth like mine, it can be hard to resist them. Especially when you’re in a gathering with friends and family, where it’s difficult or impossible to have control over what foods are around. That’s why I actually prefer to enjoy such days at home, where there won’t be pies; cakes; and so on right under my nose to tempt me. Weather ☀️⛈️   As far as weather goes, today hasn’t been the day of doom that the forecast seemed to predict. Not so far, anyway; and I was able to enjoy some life behind bars this morning. After a detour to a grocery store to get a cabbage, I headed to the park to ride some laps. Most of the time it was cloudy; and I got  home just before a burst of drizzle. I thought, of course, that it was about to start storming; but now, four or five hours later, that hasn’t happened. I got home hungry; and went right to work preparing my Thanksgiving feast! Basically, it was a big salad: a large fistful of an iceberg lettuce blend; 5 oz of canned chicken; avocado slices; chopped tomato; sliced olives; with a drizzle of garlic aioli and a squeeze of lemon juice. On the side, I had sweet potato-cauliflower mash with a little cranberry sauce. Dessert was a little 72% chocolate and some cashews. Soon I must make a garbage soup, and get few containers out of the freezer. Tomorrow might be a good day for it. The weather is supposed to turn chilly! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Day of Doom? November 28, 2024 Anytime Anywhere November 27, 2024 Wet Turkey November 26, 2024 Empty Headed November 25, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Anytime Anywhere

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Anytime Anywhere ⏰ ↷ Some things can strike anytime, anywhere. The Bonk, for instance. This morning I think I may have been approaching it, even though I did a shorter ride. Some days I’m simply not in the mood for peanut butter and banana; so I ate a protein bar (not a Bonk Breaker, though). This particular bar didn’t have any fewer calories than PB and banana; and in fact, it was a few more calories! Just to be on the safe side, I cut up a small protein bar to take along; and it’s a good thing I did. Apparently a protein bar doesn’t fill me up the way PB and banana does! I needed to eat part of the bar I took along; which shows that the bonk can strike anytime, anywhere.  I did some rather intense intervals; was that the cause? Un-Black Friday? ⚫️ I call the day after Thanksgiving Un-Black Friday, because I avoid the Black Friday madness. In fact, I’ve heard horror stories of bargain hunters getting badly injured — even crushed to death — in the stampedes. Who needs that? I’d rather be out for a bicycle ride than fighting crowds for the “best deals”. When I do go shopping, a my set of panniers is very useful. They can carry quite a lot, whether it’s Un-Black Friday or not; and are useful anytime, anywhere. Like if you undertake a bicycle tour! But tomorrow is Thanksgiving; and I hope it isn’t raining when I go out to ride. As so often happens, the forecast keeps changing; and forecast or not, we never know what the weather will do! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Anytime Anywhere November 27, 2024 Wet Turkey November 26, 2024 Empty Headed November 25, 2024 Every Little Bit November 24, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Wet Turkey

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Food /

Wet Turkey ? It’s going to be a wet turkey day, I think. The forecast predicts rain and even T-storms. I’m not sure how well the Mediterranean Diet would go with the typical Thanksgiving Day dinner. I’m not all that familiar with the diet; but it looks like turkey doesn’t fit into it very well! But I like legumes and veggies and fruit; and I suppose that hummus is part of the Mediterranean diet. Speaking of turkeys, a wet turkey is something you don’t want if you’re raising the birds. From what I’ve heard, they literally don’t have the sense to come in out of the rain. Then they’re apt to get sick and die. Ride Anyway? ? If it’s raining Thursday morning, shall I ride anyway? As usual, that depends on how hard it’s raining; and whether there’s lightning. I’d use the hybrid, because it has fenders; and wear rain gear unless there’s just a light sprinkle. We’ll see how things are Thursday morning. After Thanksgiving the weather is supposed to turn cooler. It’s more than high time it did; but I must say, I don’t enjoy battling a stiff, cold wind while I’m riding a bicycle! Question: Say, how fast can a wet turkey (or a dry one) run? Answer: A wild turkey can reach 25 mph in short spurts; so I don’t think I’d do very well trying to race one! A now-defunct local grocery store used to have large paper bags (before plastic grocery bags took over) in November, showing an image of somebody wielding a hatchet overhead while chasing after a turkey. Did they ever catch it, I wonder? This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Wet Turkey November 26, 2024 Empty Headed November 25, 2024 Every Little Bit November 24, 2024 Cotton Tale? November 23, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Empty Headed

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

Empty Headed ? I sure feel empty headed sometimes. It almost makes me wonder why I protect my head when it seems like nothing’s in it! If only getting a new idea were as easy as the illustration at left! In part, I’m spending too much time viewing YouTubes. Since I began serious work on my diet, I’ve drifted back into watching episodes of My 600-lb Life; maybe partly for inspiration. But thank goodness I’ve never had such a serious weight problem as the unfortunate people featured in these films. Watching videos is actually a rather mindless activity; so no wonder I feel empty headed. I hope that a good ride tomorrow morning will wake me up again! It looks like the weather will be good for it.  Maybe I’ll shoot for 22 miles; and even throw in some hard efforts. I’ve been VERY lax about them for the past two months; and I need to stop being so lazy. Lucky? ? With prediabetes hanging over me, I need to be careful to keep both diet and weight under control. Maybe I’m lucky; once I make up my mind to lose some weight, I seem to be able to do it quite easily. The flip side of that coin is, I also gain it back easily! Having an outsized appetite for sweets doesn’t help; but I’m working to control that. I can’t get empty headed about my eating; I need to keep watch all the time. Unfortunately I’m apt to reach a point where I wear out; and then I can easily fall off the wagon.  It’s so hard to be good all the time, as anyone knows who has tried to change dietary habits. Some of it is the same as on-bike eating: don’t wait to eat until you’re starving. At that point, anything goes! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL ✍? Empty Headed November 25, 2024 Every Little Bit November 24, 2024 Cotton Tale? November 23, 2024 Cold Turkey? November 22, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Weather Plans

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food, Outdoors /

Weather Plans ☔️ How can I make weather plans? Who can control the weather? Often enough, I’ve wished that I could control the weather. If that were possible, it wouldn’t rain during the day; and the wind would always be calm. There would never be heat advisories by 10 am, either.  I’ve got to make some weather plans for this week! The long-term forecast predicts heavy rain and even T-storms for the day after tomorrow — wouldn’t you know, the day that I plan to ride my bicycle to a doctor’s appointment. Alternatives ↔️ I’d better have some alternatives lined up, in case I can’t ride Tuesday morning. Not that I need to make a huge deal about it. If the weather is really bad — namely, if there’s a lot of lightning — I’ll just call a cab to go to my appointment. The distance is less than three miles by my bicycle route; so a cab shouldn’t cost too much. If it comes to taking a cab to get there, I can take public transit back home. Life Behind Bars means weather plans and alternatives. For example, if it’s pouring, do you go out anyway; or ride indoors? If the former, what’s the best rain gear for you? In cold weather, how do you dress? There are other times when alternatives must be considered. What other route can you take if your usual path is closed? What to take along as ride food? It’s hard to get out and ride when it’s pouring; so I always hope that I’ll get clear weather! That’s especially true of rides long enough that I’ll be eating on the bike. I don’t want my ride food to get wet!   This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL Weather Plans November 17, 2024 Storm Weary November 16, 2024 Brief Fall November 14, 2024 With New Eyes November 13, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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With New Eyes

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, Food /

With New Eyes ? Now I’m seeing the world with new eyes; although not through Celestron Binoculars . I got my new eyeglasses today. This time, I got the transitional lenses; but I can’t say yet how well they respond to bright sunlight. The sky was overcast when I walked over to the optical shop. Those Celestron Binoculars would let me see things with new eyes, I’ll bet. They’re great for astronomy; and also for bird-watching. My Personal Feed Zone ?️ I’m looking at my personal feed zone with new eyes, too: this morning I had my session with the dietician. We discussed my exercise habits and my calorie needs; watching carb intake; and so on. Carb-wise, this dietician says the same thing as the sports nutritionist of several years ago. Limit total carbs to 200 grams per day. That might sound like a lot; but many a day I ride for almost two hours, sometimes more; and the exercising body’s preferred fuel is glycogen. Of course we talked about protein intake; and I’ve got to limit “sat fat”, as I call saturated fat. The dietician gave me some material about smart shopping and meal planning. I told them about some of the recipes I invented. Often I wish my personal feed zone could include more items from Feed Zone Portables. I’ve tried making rice cakes; but I think I did something wrong. Too much cook water for the rice, maybe. My cakes came out sticky and gummy; and too soft for on-bike use.  Repeated appointments this week are cutting into my cycling time; and the weather hasn’t been the most cooperative. But it’s clearing up; and tomorrow night it will start to really feel like Fall. This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL With New Eyes November 13, 2024 What I’m Made Of November 12, 2024 Your Little Foot November 11, 2024 Gray and Warm November 10, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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Bike Bus

BACK ISSUES, bicycling, equipment, Food /

Bike Bus ? B is for Bike Bus! Now that school is in session, such get-to-school groups might be popping up all over the country! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a bike bus here in New Orleans; maybe because there simply aren’t any. I might not be out riding at the right time of day to see them; or I’m in the wrong part of town. If they exist here, that is. And I don’t think I want to start one myself. Although the video doesn’t go into great detail, I’m sure there are waivers of responsibility and other such liability issues to settle before the first ride. That’s a bit too much for me! But I hope there are bike busses here. It would be a great thing for school children. IS It Fall? ? Is it Fall? So far it doesn’t feel like it; but if the days are crisp where you live, a mug of Caffe D’Vita Sugar Free hot cocoa is great after a chilly ride. No cholesterol; gluten free; no trans fats; and it’s kosher as well. Only 50 calories per serving. But how to fuel the youngsters for that bike bus?  They’ll probably need more than 50 calories; especially as kids are growing; and that takes energy!  Maybe Skout Organic Kids Snack? This variety pack offers six flavors; and these bars are free of dairy; soy; eggs; fish; and gluten. Does your kid enjoy letting people know, “Here I come!”? The Hornit Mini Nano combines lighting with a choice of 15 different sound effects. Decibel range of 75-80 for younger kids who probably won’t be riding around motor traffic. Available in Mint Green; or Pink/Purple. The Hornit might come in handy for a bus bike ride! This blog/page may contain affiliate links. “We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.” ABOUT ME I began this website primarily as a way to present the story of how I accomplished a century ride on an adult tricycle. Other riders of adult trikes might want to know whether it’s possible. It sure is! You can read all about it in My Story. I live in New Orleans; and  retired in January 2023. More time for cycling! Website designed by Cecile Levert © This website is the property of its author. DISCLAIMER I am not a cycling coach; nor a health professional. This site is based on my own experiences, opinions, etc. If you need help, please consult the appropriate professional.   FRESH FROM MY JOURNAL Bike Bus October 1, 2024 One Last Lick September 30, 2024 No Leg Warmers Yet September 29, 2024 Nervous Breakdown September 28, 2024 Load More TRANSLATOR

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